Mafia Monster
by Ichihime Kurosaki
Summary: "You're my lover... husband... best friend... father of my children..." Orihime whispered to Ichigo as he hovered over her. She blinked away her tears and smiled slightly, placing a hand on his cheek. Inhaling deeply through the pain of the wound and smiling even brighter, she finished. "Ichigo, you're my mafia monster." Arc One: Potestas. Read and Review! :) AU/ slight OOC
1. Prologue

**Mafia Monster**

**Prologue**

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Here's a new story that I started a while ago. I wanted to get, at the least, half of the story saved on my computer before I posted. Updates won't be like the updates for "**_Words_**_"_ or any of my other stories; they'll be more spread out because the chapters will be long. And thank you to **_Moonlight102310 _**for allowing me to borrow the title for this story from her original fic, "**_Her Mafia Monster_**". That is a really great story, but it is for SasuSaku fandom in the Naruto section.

*** Ichigo's POV for the Prologue, but the rest of it will be told from 3rd person POV.

*** This is the start of the first arc in my "**_Mafia Monster_**" three-arc series. This fiction piece will be about 30 chapters long and all of them will be in arc one. The next one is arc two (also the sequel to this story) and it'll be the same for the third arc, only it will be the sequel to the next story. Arc one: Potestas.

*** Songs: _Seven Devils_ by Florence and The Machine. _No Church in the Wild_ by Kanye West and Jay-Z feat. Frank Ocean and The Dream. _Run This Town_ by Jay-Z Ft. Kanye West & Rihanna. _Who Are You Really_ by Mikky Ekko.

**Warning:** The rating _WILL_ go up. So, soon this will be rated **'M'** due to profanity (cursing), violence, and a few scenes of sexuality. For now though, it'll be rated **'T'** for mild swearing and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach and its entirety belong to Tite Kubo.

_Read. Enjoy. Then, review!_

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

**Summary:** The Kurosaki crime family is the most well-known and feared mob in all of Japan. This Mafia family is one of the major four in the continent. Settled in Tokyo, the Kurosaki crime family boss, Ichigo Kurosaki, is one of the most powerful and respected men in the organized crime business…

This man has a large and loving family, and an abundance of caring friends; he leads a double life and has every possibly coveted thing a man could want that would lead to happiness.

The head of the Kurosaki crime family is at the top of his game with his beautiful and trustworthy wife by his side, both as a successful business man and a crime boss. Though, when a new gang of mobsters settle on his turf in a small town, named Karakura Town, things begin to slowly – inevitably and suspiciously - fall apart. The small, but quickly growing mob, led by Sosuke Aizen, poses no immediate threat to Ichigo Kurosaki, but when Aizen decides that the Kurosakis have been in charge for far too long, all Hell breaks loose…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Conquistadors were Spanish explorers sent to explore the Americas, the New World, in the 1500s. They were sent by their rulers, their kings, on explorations. The explorers were sent from Spain in search of uncharted territory to claim for their motherland. Their employers gave them well-abled crews and beautiful galleons, which were Spanish ships, to aid them on their endeavors. But when they went on these exploitations, they weren't solely focused on their given tasks…

Above all, three things were on their mind…

God.

Gold.

Glory.

These were the three things that fueled explorers like Christopher Columbus, who served under the Italian **_and_** the Spanish, or Juan Ponce de Leon, or even Hernando Cortes…

These men succeeded in retaining and accomplishing their goals in these areas.

With God in their hearts and the intent of spreading their religion, they sailed on. With the thought of Glory – fame – in their minds, they bared the harsh winds and plagues of foreign lands. All because they wanted to world to shout their names! And with the vision of prosperity and wealth – Gold – in their eyes, they prevailed and returned with a plethora of discoveries.

You see, it was all about prestige back then, so of course they'd choose to persevere…

And, those three things that drove so many men onwards, – and in many cases to their graves – are strikingly similar to the drive we humans beings have today. Only, being that we are far more advanced than said explorers, those motivations are different.

For certain people today, they live and breathe for their children. That's their deed – to care for their offspring. For others, it could be their job or spouse. It could very well be the humble desire to better oneself…

For us, it's simple: power, money, and family.

God? There is no God, Kami, divine being, or anything remotely close to a Nirvana where we're going.

Glory? Fame? Hell no! Everyone already knows who we are, who **_I_** am…

Gold? I have it all, why covet more?

I **_am_** the king and I'd like to see someone take my crown…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

**Alright, there was the summary and prologue of my new story, but I just don't know if I should post it or not. So, all I need you guys to do is review – I don't want to make a poll and this is quicker – with a direct '****_yes_****' or '****_no_****' as to whether or not I should make this a story. You can leave more stuff in your review – I can't stop you – but I would really appreciate your opinions on whether I should continue or not. It's short, but I'd love responses :)**

**There will be a new chapter tomorrow and it'll jump straight into action! **

**Thanks everybody!**

**I.K. :) **


	2. Meet the Monster

**Mafia Monster**

**Chapter 1:**

**Meet the Monster**

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Here's a new story that I started a while ago. I wanted to get, at the least, half of the story saved on my computer before I posted. Updates won't be like the updates for "**_Words_**_"_ or any of my other stories; they'll be more spread out because the chapters will be long. And thank you to **_Moonlight102310 _**for allowing me to borrow the title for this story from her original fic, "**_Her Mafia Monster_**". That is a really great story, but it is for SasuSaku fandom in the Naruto section.

*** This is the first arc in my "**_Mafia Monster_**" three-arc series, entitled: Potestas. It means '**_power_**' in Latin and if you remember something from the end of the last chapter, you'll realize that it is a significant part of the series I'm starting.

*** Songs: _Seven Devils_ by Florence and The Machine. _No Church in the Wild_ by Kanye West and Jay-Z feat. Frank Ocean and The Dream. _Run This Town_ by Jay-Z Ft. Kanye West & Rihanna. _Who Are You Really_ by Mikky Ekko.

**Warning:** The rating _WILL_ go up. So, soon this will be rated **'M'** due to profanity (cursing), violence, and a few scenes of sexuality. For now though, it'll be rated **'T'** for mild swearing and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach and its entirety belong to Tite Kubo.

_Read. Enjoy. Then, review!_

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

**Summary:** The Kurosaki crime family is the most well-known and feared mob in all of Japan. This Mafia family is one of the major four in the continent. Settled in Tokyo, the Kurosaki crime family boss, Ichigo Kurosaki, is one of the most powerful and respected men in the organized crime business…

This man has a large and loving family, and an abundance of caring friends; he leads a double life and has every possibly coveted thing a man could want that would lead to happiness.

The head of the Kurosaki crime family is at the top of his game with his beautiful and trustworthy wife by his side, both as a successful business man and a crime boss. Though, when a new gang of mobsters settle on his turf in a small town, named Karakura Town, things begin to slowly – inevitably and suspiciously - fall apart. The small, but quickly growing mob, led by Sosuke Aizen, poses no immediate threat to Ichigo Kurosaki, but when Aizen decides that the Kurosakis have been in charge for far too long, all Hell breaks loose…

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

Tuesday, September 30, 2013

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. _

Ichigo looked down at his phone for the umpteenth since the beginning of the meeting and repressed the urge to sigh – again. Ignoring what had to be the fifteenth call to his phone that morning and focusing on the man speaking, who was looked extremely overwrought and nervous at the same time, he felt himself become more and more irritated with each passing second.

The man was droning on and on, stuttering, and obviously didn't have his material for the day's presentation ready. Every so often, one of the man's colleagues – Hanatarō Yamada, Ichigo thought his name was – would intervene and a new proposition would pop up, further annoying Ichigo. Everyone would join in and he would have to occasionally get their attention back on the main topic of the meeting. Expansion had been the topic of the meeting, but somehow the conference had turned its focus to inventory and stock. That only served to prolong the length of the meeting and added to the things that were frustrating Ichigo that morning. So, all in all, the colloquium had been a grand waste of not only everyone's time, but more importantly still, **_his_** time.

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. _

This time stifling the oh-so-very strong impulse to roll his eyes, Ichigo cleared his throat when the men around the table began stray off topic again. Hanatarō waited patiently for the men to settle down before continuing, fidgeting ever so slightly. He met Ichigo's eye for a fleeting second and almost passed out. The young business associate quickly straightened and turned back to the projection of charts and diagrams behind him, starting to speak again.

The man to Ichigo's right chuckled under his breath, but with one look from the executive director of the board, the man ceased his laughter and turned his attention to Hanatarō. Smirking a bit, Ichigo checked the time on his wristwatch and on the clock to make sure he had the correct time.

"Damn," he mumbled under his breath. His client was probably now waiting for him – if he had not been already - and the meeting had not yet ended.

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz._

The scowling man shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, this time releasing his sigh…

The other board members directed their attention to Ichigo and questioned whether he was alright or not, but Ichigo simply waved them off.

"You can continue, Hanatarō. I apologize," he politely diffused everyone's curiosity. "Late night last night."

A few of the other men smirked haughtily. They'd seen his wife and could only imagine why it had been a late night for Ichigo, but they didn't really know the answer. And he doubted any of them, with the exception of his cousin, would ever know.

_Buzz. Buzz. Buzz._

Resting his temple against his pointer and middle fingers, his chin against his thumb, Ichigo listened to the finale of Hanatarō's presentation and tried to disregard his phone, once more.

"Therefore, if we reduce equity by at least 15 percent, the chances of replenishing stock after and sooner will go up by at 30 percent…" concluded the sales representative. "If any of those values drop or prices rise again, we'll lose clients."

_'Still talking about stocks? What the hell happened to expansion,'_ he thought.

"So we gamble… Cut a quarter and double up? Impressive. I'll get back to you all by Thursday, at the latest Friday," the Kurosaki said as he stood up and buttoned his grey suit jacket. "I most likely won't see you for the next meeting; it'll be a conference call from Ishida's office – where you all can meet. Sorry, but I have to fly to Kyoto tonight."

The men murmured their acknowledgement of his statement and began gathering their belongings.

"You're dismissed gentlemen, ladies."

Ichigo briskly walked out of the conference room and reached in his jacket pocket to retrieve his phone, which had vibrated during the entire last five minutes or so of the excruciatingly long meeting. The tall, orange-haired man wanted nothing more than to get the chance to strangle some of his affiliates, but resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be able to.

He looked at the screen of his iPhone 5s and saw that he had a missed call from Renji Abarai – one of his closest associates – and Yasutora "Chad" Sado – his right hand man. The 27-year-old also had an urgent text message from his assistant, Neliel Tu O. Jaggerjaquez. To top it off, his wife had called him and that was probably the most unusual out of the four.

The scowling berry, as his friends and family loved to call him, decided to call his wife first since she almost never called him on days she knew he had meetings or his schedule was particularly busy. Or when she was under specific instruction to not call him, like she was now. Just as he was about to call her though, his phone began to vibrate again. A couple of smiling faces staring up at him in a caller-id picture showed that it was his spouse calling again…

Maybe there was nothing wrong and he was just a little on edge because of the events that had taken place in the last 72 hours… Maybe she was just calling to let him know that she and their children had returned to Tokyo from Osaka safely. It could have just been paranoia for all he knew…

Taking on a different attitude and trying to calm down, Ichigo answered the phone with a small smile on his face, "Hello, beautiful-"

"Ichigo," she said seriously, cutting off all pleasant greetings.

Immediately he tensed and began to walk faster to his office. She never began a conversation with him like that unless one of his clients or associates did something she didn't approve of – which was often – **_or_** he had done something she'd frown upon.

"What happened? I'm on my way to my office now. Tell me," he replied in a no-nonsense tone.

"He's back… and killed four civilians in cross fire. Two of which were toddlers, two and four years old. He won't say if he directly shot them or if it was the target that killed them" she supplied the information.

"Shit," he cursed as he walked onto an elevator. "Who's there with you?"

"Abarai and Sado," she answered. He nodded as she spoke, formulating a plan as to what to do next.

"… Take his piece and tell Nel to lock the office door until I get there," he commanded and hung up the phone, not waiting for a response.

The _'ding'_ of the elevator signaled that he was now on the top floor of the building. Ichigo stepped out of the elevator box and started walking down the corridor to his office. As he passed other offices and cubicles, his employees stood and greeted him with a bow. He nodded his acknowledgement and walked up to the desk in front of the main office – his office.

"Nel," he said, calling for the mint-green haired woman's attention.

"Yes, Kurosaki-sama?" she replied and looked up at her employer with large, hazel eyes.

"Call your husband and Hitsugaya. I want them here in 15 minutes sharp," he ordered.

The woman nodded and picked up the desktop's phone…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

"What did he say?" Renji Abarai, a man with bright red hair tied back in a ponytail and tattoos covering a large portion of his body, asked to nobody in particular. He watched the man in from of him squirm in his seat.

"Lock the doors and take his gun," Orihime Kurosaki, formerly Inoue, responded distantly from her spot in the room. The tall, albeit petite, woman sighed tiredly. Not even six hours ago had she and her children returned from Osaka, where they had stayed the last few days on a high threat alert due to the events of the past 72 hours… As soon as they got on the plane to return home, when they got the call that the danger had vanished, she received yet another call letting her know that four civilians had been killed in their place. After hearing that, Orihime dropped her offspring at Ichigo's father's house and drove directly to his main office in the city.

To be honest, after everything she had dealt with in the past week, Orihime was simply tired… and jetlagged… and hungry… and irritated.

The auburn-haired woman looked out of the glass wall in her husband's office then abruptly turned around, and walked towards where Renji was leaning on the mahogany desk in the center of the room. She walked up to the man – who was fidgeting under Renji's intense stare – and held out her hand.

"Gun."

He looked up at her. His eyes grew thrice in size due to her appearance, causing him to look away thereafter, but he still reluctantly reached inside his coat and relinquished his glock.

"And your phone," Orihime added.

He sighed and did the same with the phone.

"Don't forget the battery and memory card, please," she reminded impatiently, taking note that after this interaction she might need Aspirin or Tylenol. Almost 28 consecutive hours with no sleep wasn't a good thing and for almost all of those 28 hours she had worked, going and going, with no rest.

The quivering man knew better than to argue. These people meant business and if he didn't comply, then he'd have a bullet in his head. So, reluctantly, he removed the requested objects from his sleeve and handed them over to the woman.

He took note of how fatigued she looked and how short her fuse seemed to be, so decided to just go along with whatever she said, did, or asked to avoid getting on her bad side… He also made a mental note of how because of what he'd previously thought, that something else must have been going on because when he had first met her, she had been smiling and happy and looked completely different from the worn down woman in the room with him…

Orihime walked away from the man and removed the clip strip from the magazine of the gun.

"How many shots were fired?" she questioned.

The man looked a bit startled before he chose to answer. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, trying to calm down, he decided on a different approach… Showing fear would mean the end of his puny existence, so he'd respected but at the same time, not be afraid…

"Six," he said and cleared his throat while straightening in his seat.

Orihime hummed her comprehension. She placed he gun on Ichigo's desk and started to tamper with the man's phone. It lit up, indicating that the device was on and Orihime waited for its content to load.

"If I may ask," the man started with a new found courage, addressing Renji who stared suspiciously at him. "Why is the woman dealing with us and not Mr. Kurosaki?"

Renji, choosing not to answer, narrowed his eyes at the man before turning to Orihime. "What do you want me to do?"

"Go to the shooting site and look for six bullet casings or stray bullets themselves. Bring back any bullets or shells. Then call Mizuiro if you can't find the, all of them at least, and tell him we need to know how many stray bullets and casings were found on scene," she replied, not looking up from the phone.

Renji nodded.

"Who is Aizen, Moe?" she asked aloud, directed to the man.

"You bitch! How the hell did you unlock it?!" Moe snarled, all previous inhibitions and qualms out the window.

Orihime sighed impatiently. She had no time for games…

She made eye contact with Renji, who walked behind Moe and slammed his head on the desk.

Moe winced, gripping the front of his head. He was just thankful that it had not split open. In his daze, he didn't register that the door had opened moments before and that Renji, his assailant, had exited. He was still a bit in a daze, when he did register the fact that something cold had been put to his temple; he could practically feel the anger pulsating, **_radiating_** off of the newcomer at his side and it was suffocating him.

Ichigo held his .45 ACP to Moe Shishigawara's skull and pressed a bit harder than he usually would have, while holding out his other hand to Chad for a pistol suppressor.

"You know, I don't appreciate you calling my wife such crude names, but still I want you to answer the question otherwise, your brains will make for a lovely design on my floor," he spoke through his clenched teeth, his voice oozing his malice and distaste for the man.

Moe shivered and suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"**_Moe_**, who is Aizen?"

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

**Review, please! **

**Another update tomorrow.**

**Mistakes will be corrected later.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**I.K. **


	3. One Big Happy Family?

**Mafia Monster**

**Chapter 2:**

**One Big Happy Family?**

**Author's Note:** Hello again! It's nice to see that you guys liked the beginning, so let's get this show on the road. And thank you to **_Moonlight102310 _**for allowing me to borrow the title for this story from her original fic, "**_Her Mafia Monster_**". That is a really great story, but it is for SasuSaku fandom in the Naruto section.

*** This is the first arc in my "**_Mafia Monster_**" three-arc series, entitled: Potestas. It means '**_power_**' in Latin. One of their initial three motivations: Power. Money. Family.

*** Songs: _Seven Devils_ by Florence and The Machine. _No Church in the Wild_ by Kanye West and Jay-Z feat. Frank Ocean and The Dream. _Run This Town_ by Jay-Z Ft. Kanye West & Rihanna. _Who Are You Really_ by Mikky Ekko.

**Warning:** The rating _WILL_ go up. So, soon this will be rated **'M'** due to profanity (cursing), violence, and a few scenes of sexuality. For now though, it'll be rated **'T'** for mild swearing and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach and its entirety belong to Tite Kubo.

_Read. Enjoy. Then, review!_

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

**Summary:** The Kurosaki crime family is the most well-known and feared mob in all of Japan. This Mafia family is one of the major four in the continent. Settled in Tokyo, the Kurosaki crime family boss, Ichigo Kurosaki, is one of the most powerful and respected men in the organized crime business…

This man has a large and loving family, and an abundance of caring friends; he leads a double life and has every possibly coveted thing a man could want that would lead to happiness.

The head of the Kurosaki crime family is at the top of his game with his beautiful and trustworthy wife by his side, both as a successful business man and a crime boss. Though, when a new gang of mobsters settle on his turf in a small town, named Karakura Town, things begin to slowly – inevitably and suspiciously - fall apart. The small, but quickly growing mob, led by Sosuke Aizen, poses no immediate threat to Ichigo Kurosaki, but when Aizen decides that the Kurosakis have been in charge for far too long, all Hell breaks loose…

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

5 months ago:

Saturday, May 25, 2013.

"Come on, Hitomi! You can do it!" Orihime cheered from the stands, watching her daughter run after the ball on the soccer field.

Hitomi Kurosaki, star soccer player for the Sakura International School girls' soccer team, threw a thumb up in the direction of the visitors' stands towards her mother, letting her know that she had heard the cheering and continued to run after the ball.

Her teammates were tired and trailing behind, which was expected because they were only five and six year olds. Only a few of them had the energy to continue so, that left Hitomi and a few others to pick up the slack of the rest of the team. It wasn't easy due to the fact that the field they were playing on was a bit larger than their practice field and the heat was unrelenting today. No to mention, the other girls were bigger than them; most of the other team consisted of six and seven year old monsters, while her own team consisted of delicate – albeit tough and sassy - five and six year olds. But, the Sakura International girls' soccer team still persisted…

The little girl, having heard her mother's shouts of encouragement, brushed the sweat out of her face and pumped her legs and arms harder. The other girl, Esumi was her name, was taller than her by about a foot. It was all in the legs, so her stride was longer Hitomi's and that meant Hitomi had to push herself harder, like her Tou-san taught her.

The private school they were facing, Seisen International Elementary, was good. Really good and they were 5-0 in the season so far. They were planning to win, but Hitomi wouldn't allow that. It was a tied score so far and the next goal would be the winning one. One point was all each team needed.

Gaining more speed, Hitomi shifted her weight onto her right leg and foot, twisted her hips a bit and extended her left foot to steal the ball from the troll in occupation of it. Swiftly, Hitomi kicked the ball away from the girl and started running in the opposite direction, turning her body fully around.

The crowd began to cheer and scream, a sudden liveliness to them as Hitomi raced across the field. She ran around other defendants, not allowing them the chance to get the ball and kept a steady pace going with the ball. She passed the ball to one of her teammates and closer to the goal, it found its way back to her. She took the ball into possession and once she was at the right distance from the goal, she slowed her pace – only a bit - and got ready for the winning kick…

"GO HITOMI-NEE-CHAN!" two high-pitched voices screamed at the top of their lungs from the bleachers. Hitomi quickly glanced to her left, trying to keep her focus on not tripping at the same time, and saw her little brothers screeching and waving their signs erratically. To the right of them was her Kaa-san, trying to calm down a fussy Reika, and her Tou-san holding Keiji on his shoulders… She felt her eyes widen for a second. Her Tou-san was here!

Ichigo caught her eye for a moment and smirked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. She understood and quickly turned her focus back to the game. The tiny Kurosaki reeled back her foot and hit the ball perfectly.

Everyone watched as the ball was lifted off of the ground and felt the pressure now be directed towards the goalie. The Kurosaki twins quieted down for the moment and stared in awe at the moving object. Reika shushed and Keiji ceased his squirming.

The goalie understood that this was the difference between a clean slate for the season and a marred reputation. She tensed and took a step back, getting ready to catch the ball… but, alas, she did it too slow as the ball soared past her head and just as she reached out to catch, it flew out of her hands' reach. The ball hit the back of the net of the goal and the goalie found herself on the ground.

A whistle was blown…

Hitomi heard the cheers and whistles and celebrations going on around her, but could only focus on the ball and the winning kick **_she_** had just made.

She giggled to herself as she heard her siblings running towards her, making as much noise as possible to get her attention. Only when the wind was knocked out of her and two loud-mouthed brats were on top of her, did she smile and really accept that they had won!

"Nee-chan! You won," Daisuke yelled in her face.

"You kicked really, -" Akihiro started.

"- really far that time, Nee-chan!" Daisuke finished for his brother.

"And Tou-san said that we're going out -"

"- for chocolate chip,"

"Strawberry-dipped -"

"Sprinkle-topped -"

"ICE-CREAM!" they completed together, shouting in her face – yet again.

Hitomi laughed at her younger siblings and got up into a sitting position.

Those identical twins of Ichigo and Orihime Kurosaki were certainly something…

They were a peculiar pair, those two, but a loveable one at that. The five-year-old boys, Daisuke and Akihiro were sweet and polite, traits learned from being brought up right. They also happened to be extremely – **_overly_** – observant and smart. The dynamic duo was sneaky and troublesome at times as well. Daisuke and Akihiro also had an annoying habit of finishing each other's sentences every time they spoke, almost as if they shared one mind. It took some time, but eventually you got used to it, and it made them even more humorous than what they already were…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Meanwhile, the patriarch of the Kurosaki clan was in no hurry to get to where his "demon spawn", as he loved to refer to them as, were. Ichigo Kurosaki, 27-year-old husband and father of five, strolled casually to where Hitomi was now arguing with Daisuke and Akihiro. He stopped behind the three of their tiny figures and waited until they were done squabbling to speak.

Akihiro was the first to register his father's presence and silenced his brother in the process of his recognition. Hitomi continued to angrily yell at them for taking turns pulling her pig tails and didn't realize that the twins had completely begun to ignore her.

Daisuke looked at his brother, wondering why he would suddenly go silent, but when they made eye contact, he realized that Ichigo was in fact standing behind them… possibly spying on them! And that was a Grade 'A' offense to them. The twins placed their hands on their hips and turned on their father.

"Otou-san…" Daisuke began for his brother.

"It's not nice to listen in -" Akihiro continued.

"- on other people's conversation." they ended simultaneously. "That's spying!"

Hitomi perked up at their statement and looked up at her father, wondering when he had sneaked up on them – or her rather. It would seem the twins had already known.

"Tou-san," she squealed, running to his side and hugging his leg. He ruffled her hair and gave her a small smile before turning his attention to the twins again, who had cleared their throats loudly.

"That's rude! We were talking to you, Otou-san," they voiced, their small petite arms crossed over their chests.

"You know, you two are ridiculously irritating to deal with." Ichigo deadpanned.

"Do you mean ridiculous **_and_** irritating to deal with -" Akihiro asked, previous qualms forgotten.

"- or ridiculously irritating to deal with, like you said?" Daisuke concluded their thought.

Ichigo opened his mouth to answer, but a melodious laughter beat him to the punch. It was Orihime's. He looked back at her and tried to muster up his signature scowl and glare, but looking at her happy face, he knew he couldn't do it and felt his entire expression soften. She smiled wider and Ichigo felt his heart race; she was possibly the most beautiful woman ever and nothing would change that opinion in his mind. He loved her, more than life itself. She was the center of his universe and he hers. They had a beautiful family together and he got to spend the rest of his life with her. It was truly something to be happy about…

It didn't matter that they were at a stalemate; it didn't matter that they were mad at each other, because at the end of the day, they still loved each other more than anything, no matter what.

He felt the corner of his mouth turn up to return her smile… until he saw who she was smiling at…

"My babies! You two are so adorable!" she gushed as Daisuke and Akihiro ran to where she was. Ichigo felt his scowl return full force. She kneeled on the ground, carefully with Reika still in her arms and showered the boys in kisses and praises of "cuteness" and "adoration" and things alike.

"Tch, cheeky punks," Ichigo muttered.

"Hitomi," she then yelled. "Congratulations, sweetheart! I'm so proud of you!"

Hitomi smiled and thanked her mother, sending a big smile to the Kurosaki matriarch before turning back to Ichigo. Orihime didn't mind. She knew that Hitomi praised Ichigo and sought his approval and praise before anyone else's. She was a Daddy's Girl, for sure. Orihime giggled as she watched her oldest daughter bounce on her heels, waiting for Ichigo to pay attention to her, but it seemed that someone else had caught it first.

A soft patting on his head and an even softer voice caught the older male Kurosaki's attention from above. He looked up at his youngest son and child out of the group, Keiji.

"Hot, hot," the baby quietly complained. "Hot!"

Ichigo smiled at the infant's "wide" range of vocabulary. Removing Keiji from his shoulders, Ichigo brought him down into his arms and arranged him so that his little head was in the crook of his neck. Keiji curled against Ichigo's muscular frame and wrapped a miniature hand around his father's neck.

Now turning his attention fully to the champion of the day, Ichigo looked down at his oldest child. Hitomi Kurosaki. He peered down at her and met her bright and excited eyes; Hitomi waited patiently for her father to finish dealing with her younger siblings, staring up at him with a victorious and proud gleam in her eyes.

She knew he was proud of her. He always ways proud of his family regardless, but he also expected them to hold up to the Kurosaki name. And that meant victories and accomplishments; no failures. At only six, Hitomi knew this meant you had to give 150 percent, not just the standard 100, to succeed at any goal in mind. It was something Ichigo wanted embedded in his children's minds, so they grew up into success, but also knew how to earn it, especially with the type of life they had and world they lived in…

"So, I believe you got the memo: ice-cream. Chocolate chip, strawberry-dipped, sprinkle-topped ice-cream." Ichigo announced, getting straight to the point.

The six-year-old straightened up and saluted her father, "Yes sir, I did!"

"Well, private, let me commend you on a job well done," Ichigo congratulated her with a smirk.

She beamed at him. "Thank you, Otou-san! Did you see my kick? Just like you said and this time I didn't hurt my foot!"

"I know. I saw. It was great and with more practice, it'll be perfect," he reassured her. "Let's go. Your coach wants to talk to everyone before we leave. After that we'll get ice-cream."

The rest of their family had gone to wait for them under the shade, so they walked a bit faster to meet up with them. It was then Hitomi remembered the question she had wanted to ask her Otou-san when and **_if_** he showed up to the game, but now that he was here, it was the perfect time.

When they had left the house earlier that morning, Ichigo had told her that he was going to the game – as he wasn't **_always_** at her games – but, right before they left, **_something_** came up and he backed out, telling her that he was sorry. She knew it was work – again. Naturally, she was curious, and somewhat hurt, so she asked. It seemed like he was always coming up with answers, excuses, to not go somewhere or do something, and this bothered the six-year-old. It was like he was never with their family. He always tried, but for a man who seemed to live upon the ideology that one must try as hard as they could to succeed, he wasn't very successful – in the family area anyway.

"Otou-san, why were you late? I thought you couldn't even come."

"I was busy…" Ichigo answered casually, avoiding answering the question. "But, I am here now, aren't I?"

Hitomi didn't look satisfied with the answer he had given her, but couldn't really object anymore because they had regrouped with the rest of the team and Kurosaki clan. Ichigo wandered over to stand next to Orihime in the back while Hitomi ran to where her coach was waiting…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

"She's surprised to see you. I can tell, but she's more happy than anything," Orihime stated as Ichigo ambled towards her.

He smiled lazily and looked back at his daughter, who was animatedly talking away to one of her teammates. Probably talking about the winning kick, which just so happened to be the only play he got to see.

The only reason he had taken so long to get to her game was because the man he had hired to perform a quick hit job had decided to take his sweet ass time and then botch the job!

What type of merciless killer – a murderer with a "great reputation" - left behind a gory mess and a trail, a trail that could have led back to their base of operations no less? Then, the man had the nerve to present the hard drive Ginjō had stolen from them and, before handing to over, raise his rate for a "job well done".

Ichigo had been outraged! Had he wanted a sloppy assassination and dangerous clues left behind, he would have just shot Ginjō in the middle of the day, in broad daylight in front of a crowd, in a drive by. Had he wanted to deal with the mess that was left, Ichigo would have stormed in Ginjō Kūgo's home and shot the man's brains out in front of his family. He would have let them see his face even!

So, as a result, the Kurosaki family Boss skipped over all negotiations and went straight to using the intimidation factor. He had already been a bit cranky, not wanting to miss yet another game of Hitomi's, so when the clown burst through the doors like a hot shot and pissed Ichigo off even more, Ichigo deemed it perfectly okay to do as he saw fit with the kid. Because that's all he really was, a kid.

Jinta Hanakari… That was his name. Emphasis on '_was_'. Ichigo was to thank for that though, rushing the task and taking care of it himself so he could try to make it to at least the end of the game and claiming not wanting to leave loose ends; however, very deep inside, Ichigo knew it had also been out of slight annoyance…

Orihime watched her husband, still in suit and tie, with the exception of a jacket. Too hot for the extra layer of clothing.

Trailing her eyes over his body, she came across a mark on the sleeve of his button down.

"Ichigo," she said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "You… You're sleeve. Come here."

He eyed her curiously before he lifted the sleeve and examined it.

"There's nothing wrong with my sleeve, baby. Not a stain or rip on it."

She sighed and moved towards the arm that was cradling Keiji.

"Yes there is and it's not on that one," she insisted. Ichigo shifted Keiji to the other arm and looked for himself. Sure enough there was a blood stain on his forearm… Hadn't Renji, Chad, and Grimmjow taken care of any extra mess left over from killing Jinta? Where the hell did the blood come from? Certainly, it wasn't his. The only thing he had pulled was the trigger and he hadn't been close when he did it either. Maybe in his haste to get to the game, he hadn't realized that blood from the boy had gotten onto him…

Ichigo brushed it off. It was all in a day's work and he was sure that it really wouldn't bother him too much to have a stain on his shirt. He'd just roll up the sleeves. But Orihime would now ask questions and he really didn't want her to know about the whole ordeal; she had known Jinta and his little sister, Ururu, since his childhood and didn't really approve of him becoming a gun for hire. And even though Orihime was tough and was accustomed to the life they were living now, she still had her emotional moments. But, that was what made Orihime, well Orihime and he loved her for it.

However, even though Ichigo didn't wholly regret killing him after the new mess they boy had created for him, he did not like angering or upsetting his wife…

"You killed him, didn't you?" Orihime whispered so only he could hear, standing extremely close to him. She stared up at him, waiting for an answer she already knew.

Ichigo had also known that she didn't like the idea of sending someone they had not worked with before to assassinate someone, even if she knew him on a personal level, but had not voiced the fact that he knew this because she had not brought it to his attention. He hadn't liked the idea any more than she did, but the mercenary had come from a man he knew and trusted, an old associate of his father's: Kisuke Urahara. When it came to running the family, Orihime was no-play and business only. But, he knew she had limits and sending Jinta had pushed them. She knew him on a personal level, but did not know how he operated in the field, so conclusively, she didn't really approve of Ichigo's hiring of him. Worse than that, the mother of five did not know how much he had changed since his childhood…

"You heard me… Ichigo, did you **_kill_** him?" she reiterated in a soft, albeit strong tone.

"Yes, I did," he said as he looked at her directly in the eyes.

Orihime shook her head, disapprovingly and looked away from Ichigo. The man sighed. He saw that coming from a million miles away.

"Can we talk about it later? I know you knew him and I apologize, but you know how it works. Obviously he didn't understand how this business works and now he's gone because of careless mistakes," Ichigo said bluntly.

Orihime turned a cold glare on him and he almost couldn't restrain the urge to roll his eyes.

"Must you be so harsh about it? And was **_that_** really necessary? There are other ways we deal with these types of situations and you know that," she replied to his statement, adjusting Reika so the tiny infant wasn't in the sun.

"Orihime, don't," he sighed. Ichigo rolled his eyes this time and looked back to see if Hitomi was done. "You know there was no other way. The information of the target being hit got to us before he could relay the information himself. Like I said: careless."

The Kurosaki matriarch opened her mouth to continue to argue her point, but Ichigo swiftly beat her to the punch.

"And, there's no use in crying over spilt milk, so drop it. I said we'll talk later…"

Orihime ground her teeth and bit her tongue. He was right in the matter, but that didn't mean she had to agree. She wasn't in agreement with his actions. Far from it actually. But, for the moment she'd let it drop because of the company of the children…

When they got back to the office downtown, that'd be another story…

Entirely.

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Hitomi ran over to where her family was standing; if she noticed the atmosphere change to tense, she did not comment on it. Instead, she bombarded Ichigo with a million questions on where they'd be getting ice-cream.

It was only when they were walking to where Renji and Grimmjow were waiting with the cars, Hitomi trailing behind, did the six-year-old notice that all of her family was with her. Even Chad had showed up – sometime during the meeting at the end of the game – and he was lurking behind, silently keeping watch over the family.

They were all together and it made her giddy inside.

One big happy family. That's what they were, or at least her family by **_blood _**_was_. They were in her mind, but unbeknownst to the little girl, the other "family" was crumbling apart. Slowly, unknowingly they were falling. To the demise, to the end of their great era…

The Kurosaki reign was coming to end and everybody felt it. The underboss had said forebodingly that a storm was coming; the associates were all on their toes, anxious and trying to be ready for whatever was coming; the boss was trying to stop the world from shattering around him.

On the outside, the Kurosaki Mob looked at its best; at the top of their game. But, the inside workings were a wreck.

One big happy family? They were a family. They were big and united: one huge unit. Happy? At the moment, no one was happy. They were anything but… Anxious. Paranoid. Nervous. Scared even.

And it had all started with **_her_**…

The sole cause of their beginning malfunction.

Rukia Kuchiki.

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

At the ice-cream parlor, they had a great time and for the first time in a while, Ichigo and Orihime relaxed and let the weight of the world fall from their shoulders…

As the kids joked around with each other and ate their frozen treats, Orihime sighed – a small tired and content smile on her face, barely noticeable - and leaned over. She leaned on Ichigo's shoulder, her head in the crook of his neck, and began playing with Keiji, who had been sitting on Ichigo's lap. The blue-eyed little boy stared at his mother and reached for a lock of her hair. She giggled softly when he stood on Ichigo's thighs to reach her better.

"Are you still mad at me?" a deep, husky voice whispered.

The auburn-headed beauty titled her head up and peeked at Ichigo from beneath her lashes. Sighing again, Orihime looked down.

"No, not mad. Just… tired," she admitted.

Ichigo looked down at her and bent his head down to kiss the crown of her head. She was probably harboring a bit of anger towards him, but at least she wasn't glaring at him for everything like she had been doing for the two weeks. He had been elated that she had actually started talking to him today, even if it wasn't on pleasant terms…

The Mafia boss's thoughts were interrupted by Renji, who told him he had an urgent call from Toshiro.

He gently got up and placed Keiji back in the high chair next to their table and pushed it closer to Orihime so the boy wouldn't cry. Taking the phone from Renji, he asked, "Is the line secure?"

Renji nodded once and Ichigo walked outside.

"Toshiro," he said into receiver.

"Kurosaki… we've got a problem…" Toshiro began, directly addressing the matter at hand.

"What kind of problem? What happened now?" Ichigo all but growled into the phone.

"The hard drive that Ginjō Kūgo stole. I went through it as you asked and it turns out that some of the files we have backed up here on computers have been transferred to another location. Duplicated or either missing."

Ichigo stayed silent for a second, absorbing the new information.

"How much? What they'd take?" he snarled.

"Personnel files." Toshiro answered automatically.

"Of whom?" Ichigo demanded.

_'Of who?'_ was the better question, though, Ichigo just didn't know it.

"… Orihime's."

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

**Review, please! **

**This chapter was really boring, but lays the foundation down for everything. It's 5 months before Moe/Aizen situation and the little details all have to be there otherwise this story will just fall flat. So, even though I don't consider it to be a filler of sorts, it kind of is. **

**So, as you can see… Daisuke and Akihiro have found their way into this story as well! They're my OCs (if you couldn't already tell) and even though they do make an appearance here, they won't make an appearance in all of my stories; although, they're only really in _A Cause To Die For_, one of _Only Eyes For Her_ (mentioned in two chapters of OEFH), and I think there is a reference to them in _Disobedient_. **

**Also the reason Ichigo and Orihime have five children at almost 28 years old will be explained later.**

**And, maybe you didn't realize, but there appears to bea bit of trouble in paradise for the orange-headed couple, ne? **

**pythagore29:** **Roger that! :) Thanks for the first review! **

**Guest:**** Thanks for the answer! I'm continuing, obviously. Lol XD **

**delany16:**** Thanks for the review! I'll make sure to make it interesting throughout the story. **

**Pablo Hirunata:**** Thank you, thank you for the answer! :) **

**Esa The Great:**** Why thank you for such an awesome compliment! :D I'm excited for the updates too! I'll be planning out the schedule for this soon and then I'll add it to my profile page with the rest of my updates schedule, so when I know, you'll know. And you may state as much as you want! XD **

**Guest:**** So, I take it you're in awe of the chapters so far? Lol **

**Guest:**** Thank you! **

**naleah:**** Aizen, in my opinion, will always be the number one enemy. He's just the greatest villain of the Bleach series, if I humbly may say so. The others are pretty badass, but his treachery just started it all. XP **

**Mistakes will be corrected later.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**I.K. **


	4. Trust Thy Wife

**Mafia Monster**

**Chapter 3:**

**Trust Thy Wife**

**Author's Note:** Hello again! It's nice to see that you guys liked the beginning, so let's get this show on the road. And thank you to **_Moonlight102310_** for allowing me to borrow the title for this story from her original fic, "**_Her Mafia Monster_**". That is a really great story, but it is for SasuSaku fandom in the Naruto section.

*** This is the first arc in my "**_Mafia Monster_**" three-arc series, entitled: Potestas. It means '**_power_**' in Latin. One of their initial three motivations: Power. Money. Family.

*** Songs: _Seven Devils_ by Florence and The Machine. _No Church in the Wild_ by Kanye West and Jay-Z feat. Frank Ocean and The Dream. _Run This Town_ by Jay-Z Ft. Kanye West & Rihanna. _Who Are You Really_ by Mikky Ekko.

**Warning:** The rating _WILL_ go up. So, soon this will be rated **'M'** due to profanity (cursing), violence, and a few scenes of sexuality. For now though, it'll be rated **'T'** for mild swearing and violence.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach and its entirety belong to Tite Kubo.

_Read. Enjoy. Then, review!_

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

**Summary:** The Kurosaki crime family is the most well-known and feared mob in all of Japan. This Mafia family is one of the major four in the continent. Settled in Tokyo, the Kurosaki crime family boss, Ichigo Kurosaki, is one of the most powerful and respected men in the organized crime business…

This man has a large and loving family, and an abundance of caring friends; he leads a double life and has every possibly coveted thing a man could want that would lead to happiness.

The head of the Kurosaki crime family is at the top of his game with his beautiful and trustworthy wife by his side, both as a successful business man and a crime boss. Though, when a new gang of mobsters settle on his turf in a small town, named Karakura Town, things begin to slowly – inevitably and suspiciously - fall apart. The small, but quickly growing mob, led by Sōsuke Aizen, poses no immediate threat to Ichigo Kurosaki, but when Aizen decides that the Kurosakis have been in charge for far too long, all Hell breaks loose…

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

5 months ago:

Sunday, May 26, 2013.

Sitting in his study, Ichigo stared at the screen of his desktop blankly, thinking.

He was left with nothing to do after the ice-cream trip but ponder on why his wife's information could be coveted. He had went home, calmly lying to his wife when she had asked if everything was alright – telling her that there was no problem when indeed there was – and tucked his children into bed with a false, strained smile on his face… But now, everything hit him full force and made him angrier by the second.

_"Kurosaki… we've got a problem…"_

Ichigo tightened his fist.

_"The hard drive that Ginjō Kūgo stole, I went through it as you asked and it turns out that some of the files we have backed up here at the main office have been transferred to another location. Duplicated or either missing."_

The man had had the hard drive for less than 36 hours and had given – maybe even sold – information to an unknown figure or possibly group of people so quickly.

How had he gotten past the firewall Mizuiro and Kisuke had conjointly set up? But the even bigger problem at the moment, bigger than having a breached firewall, that had been re-established and upgraded, was that there was a possibility multiple people – _as in **more** than **one** person_ – having their information. More so over, the type Ginjō had hacked into and transferred.

_"Personnel files."_

That's what had been taken: personnel files.

Feeling his anger begin to spike again, Ichigo inhaled deeply and clenched and unclenched his fist again.

_"Of whom?"_

'Of whom?' he had demanded, but as soon as the answer had been given, he felt his heart drop. It was not something that, not a **_name_** that he had wanted to hear. Given the fact of course that he had not really wanted to hear any of his associates' or Mafiosos' name. However, hearing **_that_** name had made it all the worse.

_"Orihime's."_

His blood had run cold and he nearly dropped the damn phone when the name had slipped past Toshiro's lips. Never before, never in his time of being a Mafia boss, had he been so shocked in such a way, only magnifying because it was **_his wife_**. But what had initially been shock transformed so quickly into a blind rage, so far from anger, that all he had been seeing was red. He wanted blood, Ginjō Kūgo's to be specific, but that time had already passed. He could not deal the final blow to the man as desired, but that didn't mean he couldn't do it to someone else entirely.

Ichigo was reflecting on one person's faults and the consequences of it. Thinking about how one person's choices had now put his loved one in danger – a danger she had no knowledge of – and how no revenge could be taken on said person that had committed the heinous act. Musing about the outcome of the situation if the information got into the wrong hands. There was really nothing to do with it unless you were an enemy of the Kurosaki Mob family, which they were not short of. And being the realist he was, Ichigo knew that it probably had fallen into one of his enemy's clutches. The odds, unfortunately, as of late, had not been in his favor.

_"We don't know how much was duplicated, but her information was the only thing completely missing. Nothing else… Kurosaki, they **want** you to know that they stole her files. And you already know what that means…"_

The only way Orihime's information could be used against them would be utilizing it to get to him (angering or hurting him alike) and he would be damned if he let that happen. In the world of organized crime, Orihime Kurosaki was not – absolutely not! – supposed to exist. She was not supposed to be known as Kurosaki to the Mafia world, but as Inoue for protection. But some asswipe had to ruin it all…

The world knew who he was, but as a business man, not a mobster. But her association with the name, in the dark – in the Mafia world, would mean association with him and that was far too dangerous because those that did know he was a Mafia boss didn't know how far their relationship ran, how deep. They didn't know how much she knew and he was fine with that. Those that did have knowledge of her involvement in his transactions, kept quiet out of fear of him and that was fine too.

But to make things "better", now he had it in his mind the fact that he had decided to lie to her about it and could only think that it had been the wrong decision.

Ichigo left out a huff of frustration, running his hands angrily through his hair before rubbing his face. Allowing Toshiro and Mizuiro to continue to look into the situation he had no qualms about, but maybe, maybe he could have used her resources and let her know what was going on at the same time. Answers may have come a bit quicker that way, but Ichigo was Ichigo and that entailed being too protective for his own good…

The Mafia boss was knocked out of his thoughts by an accusatory voice: Orihime's.

"You know, if there was really nothing wrong, you would have answered when I called you and you wouldn't be huffing and puffing to yourself."

Ichigo snapped his head up and scowled at his wife.

"You weren't calling me," he growled.

"Oh? And me standing at your office door for five minutes, knocking and saying your name isn't calling for your attention?" she challenged him.

Ichigo bit his tongue. He really didn't want to get into an argument with Orihime but she was pushing his buttons, grating on his last nerves; his patience was wearing thin. Standing, Ichigo clenched his jaw and walked passed Orihime, and out of the room.

"Ichigo, you're trying to keep me in the dark, just like last time and that's only going to make things worse," she called out as he briskly pushed passed her. "It's not going to solve anything this time around."

"And what is?!" he snapped, turning on his heel and openly glaring at her. "Me letting you get involved in things you should have no business in?"

"Well, maybe, if you had told me what I was getting into -"

"Oh no, you would've just found another way to get him killed," Ichigo cut her off with a sarcastic reply.

Immediately after the sentence left his mouth, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. He had hurt her, immensely, with his words and it was painfully visible on her face. Orihime looked as if she had been struck, slapped across the face and kicked in the gut. As if a bucket of ice had been dumped on her. So the truth finally came out…

"I always knew you blamed me for his death," she whispered. "I could see it… every time you looked into my eyes."

Ichigo sighed, reaching out to her but she jerked out of his arms.

"Orihime -"

"Don't!" she yelled. "You still think I'm some fragile, little China doll that needs protecting and I don't! I can handle myself! I don't need to be coddled, and I don't need you shielding me from every little danger in the world. And it wasn't my fault. He was doing what **_you_** told him to do!"

She was beyond done; he had been trying so hard to protect something that wasn't there.; he was still treating her as if she was some innocent little school girl and she wasn't; he had an obligation to protect, true, but he took it too far sometimes. And it infuriated her beyond belief.

"I never blamed you," he disagreed. "Never! He was following orders, but he wouldn't be dead if you had stuck to the plan."

A fire lit in her eyes.

"You do blame me. You just said it was my fault," she shouted, her voice raising an octave.

"Don't twist me damn words, Orihime! He was doing his **_fucking_** job and that was to protect you. **_My_** job is to protect you!" he shouted back with same amount of anger and annoyance that she had.

"So to protect me, you'll keep me naïve and unaware," she said. It wasn't a question; it was a statement. And it pissed Ichigo off to no end on just how right she was. "Well, I suggest another tactic because you methods aren't working. I already know they stole my files."

Orihime thrust a file into his hands and turned on her heel, storming down the hallway.

The auburn-haired woman had only meant to ask her husband if it was indeed true that they had stolen her information. She had heard so merely as a coincidence from Mizuiro. He had been on the phone and she was walking by. It wasn't that she was trying to eavesdrop, no, she had been looking for Ichigo. But as soon as she heard it, she couldn't stop herself from questioning him and trying to find out more. And what had started out as a rumor, became factual when Renji gave her the mail from earlier that day and she had found a small package addressed to none other but herself. Inside the package, however, was not anything she was expecting… Inside were multiple pictures of her by herself, her and Renji, some with Nel or Rangiku, a lot with her and Ichigo… all in different places… all at different times… What popped up the most were the pictures of her by herself… with red X's over her face.

Orihime had been scared, she had to admit that much. It didn't matter how much she had grown as a person, fear was bound to rear its ugly head every once and a while.

She had dumped the contents of the package out and found copies of her personnel file in it, with parts of it circled in red and highlighted.

What appeared to be highlighted and circled the most was her name, her married name… Over and over again… Not Inoue… **_Kurosaki_**, over and over and over again…

**_Kurosaki_**_ Orihime_

It made her sick to her stomach.

She didn't stay to watch realization pass over his face and contort his features. She linger to see anger mar his features and an anger tremor to begin to shake his body, but she did leave one last statement:

"The pictures date back to New Year's, so whoever has been following me, started doing so way before yesterday's events. So it must've been planned up to this point or someone is just screwing with you."

Orihime walked away from Ichigo, not stopping when he lashed out violently at some random piece of furniture, sending it flying across the room and smashing into the opposite wall. Not flinching as his curses grew louder than the crashing of everything he threw…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Hitomi had quietly listened from the hallway as her parents argued, every so often peeking her head around the corner to see if it was going to escalate anymore.

She mentally berated herself, claiming she should have known that it was all a rouse. They were arguing and fighting more and more lately, so who was she to think that they'd change so quickly? She sighed and leaned back against the wall as Ichigo's and Orihime's voices carried away, indicating that they had taken their argument to another room for the time being.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, kid?" a gruff voice questioned from her right.

Hitomi snapped her head up and met "Uncle" Grimmjow's icy-blue eyes. He narrowed them at her as he watched her contemplate on whether or not she should lie to him about spying on her parents.

She distantly tugged on the ends of her hair as she thought of what to tell him, but knowing he would catch on anyways she decided on answering truthfully. She was pretty sure everyone had heard the argument so why be shy about coming to investigate? She probably wasn't even the only one to have been snooping around.

"I… I was listening to them fight again," she quietly confessed.

Grimmjow sighed.

_'Third time this week,'_ he thought.

"Alright, the three of you, come on. Back to bed," he ordered and walked into the living and stood next to the couch that Daisuke and Akihiro were hiding behind.

The twins came out from their hiding spot holding hands, Akihiro sniffling a bit. He reached out to Grimmjow, indicating he wanted to be picked up and the man complied.

"You do know you're too big to be carried, right?"

Akihiro didn't answer, he just snuggled into his uncle's warmth and tried to drown out the sounds of his parents shouting at one another. Hitomi, holding back her own tears, stood up and grabbed Daisuke's hand, and together Grimmjow and Hitomi lead the little boys to bed…

As they walked down the hallway, Grimmjow talked to Hitomi, trying to distract the children from what was going in the other room.

"I saw your kick today. It was a badass," he complimented his boss's daughter.

Hitomi smiled a bit, but then immediately frowned.

"Uncle Grimmjow, Mommy told you not to curse around us," she scolded and looked up at him with a scowl, which resembled Ichigo's, on her face.

The older man chuckled. "You really are something else, you know that?"

_'Just like your mother,'_ he thought to himself, comparing the two females to one another.

They dropped the twins off at their room and continued the walk to Hitomi's room, Grimmjow thinking about what they had learned that afternoon. Hitomi, on the other hand, thought about something very depressing to her. She sniffled as she thought about the chance of her notion becoming a reality.

Tugging on Grimmjow's pant leg, she decided it was best to ask an adult who, maybe, understood the situation better.

"Do you think… do you think they'll get a divorce?" she whispered.

Grimmjow was stumped. He looked down at her with a look of surprise. Talking about things like this with Hitomi wasn't his job; it was Ichigo and Orihime's. And honestly, he didn't know how to answer her. He and Nel had no children of their own; the Kurosaki children were the only ones he's ever interacted with and he even botched his babysitting duties sometimes! Maybe, he should tell her '_no_'. That's what she wanted to hear, anyways, right? That her parents were just going through a hard time and that sooner or later – preferably later so he wasn't out in these awkward situations – they would work it out…

More importantly, how the hell did she know about divorce at such a young age?

But, just as he was about to ask to find out, she answered.

"Hana's parents are getting a divorce. Her parents don't love each other anymore and so they're splitting up. She says her parents always argue, like Mommy and Daddy."

The teal-haired man stared at her for a few moments before kneeling down so they were eye-level. No damn six-year-old should hear about things like that or even have the slightest bit of an idea as to what divorce was; it wasn't fair to the child or children involved.

Sighing deeply, Grimmjow opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off again… This time, though, by a crash followed by louder screams and shouts.

Grimmjow stood up and dashed down the stairs and out of the hallway, Hitomi following close behind.

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Grimmjow ran to Orihime, who was walking towards him and Hitomi, his gun drawn.

"What the hell was that? Are you okay?" he barked out his questions.

"I'm fine," she answered curtly. Orihime turned her attention to Hitomi, who was staring up at her with tears in her large, amber eyes. The Kurosaki matriarch kneeled down in front of her daughter and pulled her into her arms, hugging Hitomi tightly. She hid her face in the little girl's shoulder, concealing her own tears.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go check on Kurosaki," Grimmjow said and left the two girls alone.

They stayed in the same position for a while: Orihime on her knees, hugging Hitomi. Hitomi glued to Orihime's curvy frame, her tiny arms wrapped around the older woman's neck. Orihime was the first to break the embrace, leaning back slightly to look at her daughter properly.

"Let's get you back in bed," she whispered, wiping away a few stray tears from her face and the rest from Hitomi's. "You have school tomorrow."

Orihime picked the smaller Kurosaki female up and slowly made her way up the stairs and down the hallway to the first bedroom on the right…

The teal-haired man rounded the corner and held his gun up in front of him, but quickly lowered his weapon when no one materialized in front of him except for Ichigo – who was slumped against the wall, looking utterly defeated.

"What happened?" Grimmjow cautiously asked, slowly walking to where Ichigo wasn't moving.

"Take a look for yourself," he uttered, drained of his energy. Ichigo flung the pictures and printed version of her files to Grimmjow and pushed himself off the wall, walking away from the mess and current source of his distress.

It was certainly going to be a long night…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Behind the large house, a man sat upon a hill and watched, concealed by the dark of the night and greenery and foliage of the forest surrounding them. He silently polished the rifle in his lap and began humming a tune.

Shifting on the ground so that he was lying on the ground, stomach down, the man adjusted the bi-pod of his long-range sniper rifle on the moist earth. Resting the blunt of the gun right above his shoulder, he peeked through the scope on the gun.

Moving the scope and gun a bit more, he was finally given a perfect view of auburn hair cascading down a petite back and bodice, flowing past a slim, narrow waist, and curling at the ends just a little past said waist.

The man smirked…

His target was found.

Leaning back a little, he stared at the house with both eyes wide open.

_'It's like they're **want** us to win, leaving the damn window wide open. How fucking stupid can they get?'_ he thought smugly. _'If that's the case, they'll never see us coming and we'll win for sure.'_

He watched the woman walk back and forth, rocking an object and occasionally putting her face close to the object for a split second before raising it again. Quickly getting down into his position again, he peered into the scope for a third time, squinting his eye just a bit to get a better view of what was in the woman's arms.

"What the…"

The man immediately sat back up. It was a baby.

Reaching for his head set, he pressed a button on the earpiece and waited…

"Nnoitra, sir, what seems to be the problem?"

"Tesra, call this damn man and find out if he wants me to just kill the bitch or the bitch **_and_** the bastard?"

"W- what do you mean? It's only her he wants dead."

"Yes, I know," the man nearly shouted into the mouthpiece, exasperated. "**_But_**, there's a kid with 'er."

"Okay! I'm doing it now."

Nnoitra sighed. Running a hand through his long, black hair, he impatiently came to a conclusion. Patience wasn't his strong suit and what he was doing now was just adding fuel to the fire; he was just helping in getting things to move along. There was a storm brewing anyways and killing whoever the woman was would supposedly start the first battle of many that would get them to the top. So, if killing one of the enemies' family members would start a battle, who's to say killing two wouldn't begin the war?

The vile man smirked, thinking about how lovely their blood would probably look, along with their brains and whatever else splattered on the walls. Besides being a sharp-shooter and a damn good one at that, he was one of the most blood-thirsty men in their group that could get the job done efficiently - _successfully and professionally_ - and still have his fun while at it.

"Tesra, scratch that." He spoke into the mouthpiece.

"What? I already have Kaname on the line," Tesra protested.

"I don't give a shit. I'll just kill 'em both."

And when Tesra tried to object again, static from Nnoitra's set cut him off. No matter how much he didn't want to argue with the man and no matter how much he wanted to let his idol do whatever he so pleased, Tesra knew to some extent what killing the both of them would cause, and knew it was wrong; however, he also knew that once Nnoitra was given a hit job, it was nearly impossible to get the blood-lusting man to back down from the job… and all – **_every_** – killing opportunity involved.

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Renji walked out of Reika's room, shutting the door quietly. The little girl was fast-asleep, a blessing considering the fact that she had been fussy and cranky all day long. When Renji had checked in on her, she was sprawled out in her crib, lightly snoring and occasionally turning up her lips in a toothless smile. After making sure that the cameras in her room were working and closing windows, – along the curtains – Renji realized that he had completed security checks on the second floor of the house.

Ichigo wasn't making them go on a lockdown, per se, but after his argument with Orihime earlier that night and the revelation that she was being followed, well stalked was a better and more appropriate term, everyone was taking more precautions.

"And done," he whispered to himself, satisfied with another task completion.

The muscular, red-head stretched his shoulders a bit and checked the time on his phone.

11:23.

_'Still somewhat early. Shūhei and the others are probably just getting off,'_ he mused inwardly.

Taking another look around the corridor and feeling like everything was in order, Renji began walking towards the stairs. Ichigo, who had been coming up the stairs, walked up and stopped Renji before he left.

"Everything good?" the orange-haired boss asked, the question pertaining to the semi-lock down.

"Yup, all the rooms are done and I'm going to do the rest of the house now," he clarified, proudly. "All the kids are asleep, all cameras are up and working, and windows are sealed shut for the night. Doors have been locked, everything up here is all good. Done just like you wanted. I'm going to start downstairs now…"

Ichigo nodded and began making his way down the hall in search of his wife…

Just as Renji was about to walk away, he remembered something.

"Ah, Ichigo," he called and pivoted on his heel to face the man. "I almost forgot: I didn't check Keiji's room. Orihime is in there and was crying when I walked in. She asked for some privacy, so I told her I would come back later."

Ichigo stopped him, "That's alright. I'll do it myself. I'm heading there now anyways. Thanks Renji and goodnight."

Renji nodded to Ichigo and bid his goodnight as well, promising to check the first floor before leaving.

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

Orihime stood by Keiji's crib, watching her son sleep sound fully, without a care or bother in the world. He slept peacefully, happily – occasionally making little gurgling sounds and murmurs, even rarer were the little giggles and smiles he made.

She smiled a small smile at his innocence and how he had slept through all the fuss downstairs that transpired only a few hours ago, acting as if nothing had happened at all. Reaching in the crib, she slowly lifted the infant out of his bed and adjusted him in her arms.

"My tiny prince," she whispered. "You know I love you, right? Mommy loves you and Daddy loves you and your brothers and sisters do too."

Walking in the dim moonlight, cast in from the crescent moon from the window, she continued to talk senselessly to the sleeping child. She told him of her love for him, of how he'd always be protected, of how he'd grow up to be strong and handsome and intelligent. Orihime leaned down and kissed on the forehead, and then nuzzled his cheek a bit, basking in the tenderness, in the softness of it. Turning her back to the window, she resumed to talk to her youngest son.

"You're very precious to me, Keiji. We almost lost you. **_I_** almost lost you. After something like that, I'll never let anything hurt you. Not ever again. I'll try hard to keep all harm away from you; with my life I'll protect you if I have to," Orihime swore and sniffled a little, thinking about how Keiji had almost died before getting a chance to meet his family and see the outside world.

He had been on the brink of being another one of her stillborn children. And **_that_** was something she could not allow. There had just been one too many and it broke her heart to think of the two that would never see the wonders the world had to offer. But, in the end, she and Ichigo had had the opportunity to have 4 of their own children. 4 magnificent children and she was actually okay with not being able to have any more, despite her and Ichigo's dreaming of birthing five of their own… Daisuke and Akihiro had been surprises all on their own, Keiji was her little miracle, and Reika had astonished everyone. The little girl had indisputably been a shock to them, but she was a gift that they wouldn't trade in for the world. And to top it off, she and Ichigo had Hitomi, the magnificent daughter, whom they couldn't be more proud of. Orihime was happy with the family they had; they were essentially perfect now…

Chuckling a little at how fast her thoughts could run rampant, the auburn-haired beauty shook her head and restarted her swaying and conversation.

"But now I sound like your father. I can try, but inevitably, unfortunately, I can't protect you from everything," she sighed. "Even though I wish I could, I can't. Unless I lock you in a padded room and stay in there with you."

A dry laugh sounded behind and Orihime didn't turn around to acknowledge it, nor did she need to turn around to identify it.

"What guarantees I won't lock you in room?" the voice asked, a bit of humor traceable in it. The door to Keiji's room gently closed and footsteps padded across the room to where Orihime was now standing.

Ichigo slowly approached his wife and when she didn't reject his advances, wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his chest.

"Orihime," he said quietly, all humor now gone. "Hime, I'm sorry. I understand that with Kaien's death things have changed and it was wrong of me to act the way I have been to you. But, we've both been in the wrong. We're having way too many problems to try and pit it off on an consignment gone wrong."

Orihime nearly scoffed at her husband's attempt at an apology, but deep down knew she already forgave him because he was never really good with words – and was obviously making the effort – and because it was just in her nature to forgive people. She had already forgiven him… on the inside. On the outside, however, she held out a bit, hoping he'd come to this realization later.

"Ichi, I admit that maybe I should have just stuck with what we were originally going to do, but, honey, lately we've been having so many problems because you don't trust me like you should. You don't trust as your wife and as a married couple, we should be equals. We're not."

Ichigo turned Orihime around to face him. Here he was trying to make amends and she was shooting his efforts down.

"Yes, we are. I tell you everything. How can you think that?" he asked incredulously.

Restraining an eye roll, Orihime shrugged out of his arms and placed their son back in his bed, covering him and planting one last kiss on his tiny, chubby cheeks.

Not facing her lover, Orihime answered, "Because, you're still hiding something from me. And I'm not talking about the threats or Ginjō Kūgo. Something else is going on and you refuse to tell me. That means you don't fully trust me or don't trust me enough to keep me in the loop."

"You know that's not true. I trust you, but I made a decision to keep you protected," Ichigo disagreed.

"Again? Really, Ichigo? You're going to play the protection card?" she snapped, annoyed that they had just gotten into an argument because of the topic he was bringing up yet again.

"Yes, again, Orihime. Yes," he answered honestly. "You don't seem to care or think about how much you mean to me and the kids. You – no, **_we_** have a family and I won't raise those kids alone."

"Ichigo, you can't even say something like that knowing that you could die at any minute," she said exasperatedly, shaking her head.

Ichigo looked close to ripping out his hair at any moment. Inhaling deeply, Ichigo looked around the small room and thought, just trying to find the right words to stay…

But what did he want to say? Thinking back on the last three years of his life and how anything could change, _at any moment_, he knew the answer was a lot. Too many things went unsaid and the people that he wanted to say them to were gone, so it was too late. They were ripped out of his life before he could find those words and now he would never get the chance. At any second, she could be taken from him and he'd never see her again… That'd be it and the words he'd wanted to say would remain just like what he wanted to tell Kaien, to tell his father… to tell his brother…

Ichigo looked down at Orihime and saw that she was looking back at him with rapt attention. How would he be able to go on without seeing those gorgeous grey, doe eyes every day that shone with specks of silver? How would he survive without hearing her melodious laughter and seeing her bright, beautiful smile? Ichigo realized… he could not.

Closing the distance between them, he pulled her into his arms once more and crashed his lips to hers in a smoldering, passionate kiss that left the both of them breathless.

Breaking apart from her sinful lips, Ichigo whispered, "I don't want to lose you."

Orihime, still a bit lightheaded from the kiss, shot opened her eyes and stared into Ichigo's amber ones.

Lifting a hand to caress his cheek, Orihime replied ever so softly, "You won't. I promise, baby, you won't… And I can keep that promise if you let me in, so we can do it - **_together_**."

Ichigo stared at her for a few moments... He didn't want to, Kami knew he didn't want to! But… he had to.

"Okay."

Orihime smiled a bit and leaned up to kiss him again but Ichigo turned his head to the side, wrinkling his nose. For her part, Orihime gawked up at him bewilderedly.

With an amused glint in his eye, Ichigo bent down so he could whisper in her ear.

"I have a better idea…"

Orihime giggled as Ichigo lifted her into his arms and forced her wrap her legs around his waist… but the cute, shushed giggles turned into a choking, gurgling sound as glass was impacted and shattered and a bullet lodged itself into Orihime's back…

Orihime cried out and clutched Ichigo's arm. The pain was immense and colossal.

"I- Ichigo!"

Another shot went off and hit the wall next to Ichigo's head. The man, in response, quickly dove for the corner of the room closest to them, safely hidden behind Keiji's closest.

"Renji! Grimmjow! Sharpshooter and Orihime's been shot!" he shouted, not caring who he woke up.

Shoving Keiji's crib against the wall and then placing Orihime against the opposite wall, Ichigo crouched down to avoid getting hit himself, beginning to carefully inspected her wound. Trying not to vomit at the blood profusely coming out of the hole the bullet created and the blood on his hands, Ichigo bellowed for the two men again. Looking across the room and narrowly dodging another bullet, Ichigo saw that his son's bed had not been disturbed, the solid crib pushed against the wall. However, the baby himself had stirred at Ichigo's screams and shouts; Keiji was starting to turn and whimper. His whimpers began to turn into wails and Ichigo cursed his luck.

"Fuck," Ichigo cursed to himself.

Hurriedly turning back to his wife, Ichigo spoke to Orihime, "You promised, so don't die. Hime, don't fucking close your eyes. You hear me, **_dammit_**? You'll be okay. Alright? Just don't die!"

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rushed to Keiji's crib, just as the infant gripped the rails and stood up. Ichigo crossed the room quickly and picked up Keiji just as another bullet was fired, this one directed right at Keiji's head. The bullet lodged itself in Ichigo's right arm, below the shoulder.

"**_Shit!_**"

The older Kurosaki male threw himself, back first, against the wall opposite of Orihime, pushing the infant's crib to the middle of the room with his injured arm, grimacing through the pain. A barrage of bullets went off in the room and Ichigo clutched his son closer, ignoring the throbbing in his arm and Keiji's screams.

He looked over at Orihime and saw he head dropping and snapping up as she struggled to stay conscious and not give into the pain.

"Orihime, you promised, dammit! Orihime!"

She looked up and met Ichigo's frenzied eyes, a spark of a foreign emotion, something similar to determination, crossing in the her own.

"Trust me… I won't die," she whispered just before everything went black…

* * *

**_~X~_**

* * *

"It's done. Got the bitch dead center," Nnoitra knelt down in front his superior, chuckling at his play on words a bit.

"Good, very well done… Very well done," a smooth voice spoke from across the room.

"Should I let the others know to prepare soon?" Nnoitra asked as he raised to his feet, holding onto the rifle strap on his shoulder and placing a hand in his pocket.

"Yes, that'd be very much appreciated. Send in Gin and Kaname as well; we have preparations to make," the man replied, his speech eloquent and non-faltering.

"Of course," the sharpshooter replied and left the room.

As he left, two more came in and took his place.

"What are your plans Aizen? I heard we just killed a woman and yet none of us except that monster have any clue why," a sly man, with a smile similar to that of a fox's asked. His name was Gin. Gin Ichimaru.

"Great questions as usual, Gin. Your curiosity is so endearing," the man named Sōsuke Aizen replied. "Well, I intend to crush the spirits of Ichigo Kurosaki. I am going to take his crown and steal everything he finds precious in this world from him. I'm going to take what he loves and crush it; I'm going to show him what it means to go crazy and just as he goes on the brink of insanity, I'll pull back and let him begin to feel in power again. But, when that happens, when his hope gets up again, I'll set the world he knows – the world around him – on fire. I'll allow him to feel the flames just before I end his misery and furthermore, his existence."

"We just killed his wife and this will make him furious beyond belief. His grief will fuel his rage. This rage will make him careless and it will help in breaking him. And I want to see him break… I want to see him grovel at my feet, begging for mercy, before I truly give him a taste of Hell…" Sōsuke continued.

"The Kurosaki reign has come to an end; they've been in control for far too long and now… it is time for a new power to emerge. **_We_** are the new power…"

* * *

**_~xXx~ Postestas ~xXx~_**

* * *

**Review, please! **

**Little lily:**** I'll try to! Thanks for the review. :) **

**Advent:**** Thanks! That really makes me happy! And don't worry, there will be IchiHime moments, but they won't be one after another after another after another because there is so much more to this story than their love and it actually has a plot. So, the love scenes and fluff will be there, but not as prominent as the issues that will arise. **

**Naleah:**** Ooooh, well, I really can't give that away without revealing too much of the plot. Just know that it's not for something good, that's for sure! XD**

**Yamada. Chibi:**** Thanks so much! :D I try, so hard, to come up with different things or mix up the usual, so that means a lot to me. And no, Rukia will not be involved with Ichigo. Her first appearance will in a few chapters, and you'll see where her romance life stands. **

**Icypinkroses:**** Thanks, that means a bunch coming from you as one of my favorite authors. :) I like this Orihime too, even though I created her personality for this AU fic. And Ichi's a total badass now. Lol XD The updates this week will be frequent so you won't have to wait too long! **

**Pythagore29:** **I know, right? And Rukia will have one of the bad roles, partially. That's all I can say. But she won't mess with the IchiHime factor in the story. I'll try not to stop because everyone has asked. This week though I have a lot of free time, so expect more updates to this story specifically.**

**Seirensou:**** Yes, I also see their daughter as similar to her aunt, Karin. But she's a bit nicer and not as sarcastic, but she's still young so she has a while to go before we see more Karin in her character. But the twins, not so much. The twins that make up Sogyo no Kotowari – which is Ukitake's Bankai – are annoying. Daisuke and Akihiro aren't like that. Lol XD And thanks so much! :)**

**Anonymous Starbucks Lover:**** Thanks and no, you're not a Mafioso. If you were, then I'd probably be dead. Trust me everything so far has been intentional and doesn't everybody love Mafia-Wife-Hime? And everything will be explained, Gabby, so be a little bit patient. Thanks for the reviews, though! :) **

**Ermilus:**** Thank you! **

**Mistakes will be corrected later.**

**Questions? Comments? Concerns?**

**I.K. **


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